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Qatar’s sovereign fund forms JV with China’s CITIC to invest $10B in Asia

By Bhawna Gupta

  • 04 Nov 2014
Qatar’s sovereign fund forms JV with China’s CITIC to invest $10B in Asia

Qatar's sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) has joined hands with Chinese government-controlled CITIC Group Corp, to launch a joint investment fund with a corpus of $10 billion to invest in Asia region.

Both sides will invest an equal amount of $5 billion and have set their eyes on sectors like infrastructure, real estate, healthcare and retail.

The JV is a part of QIA's efforts to diversify away from its traditionally Europe-focused portfolio as the European economy continues to stagnate.

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QIA, which has around $170 billion in assets under management, is looking to invest around $20 billion in Asia in the next five years.

Two years ago it had picked 22 per cent stake in CITIC Group's CITIC Capital Holdings Limited. CITIC Capital is an alternative investment management and advisory company with interests in private equity, real estate, structured investment & finance etc. So the latest deal marks an expansion of the association of the two partners.

QIA is also expanding its office network in Beijing and Delhi, according to a report by Bloomberg.

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Founded in 2005, QIA seeks to invest in different asset classes and geographies. Globally, it has invested in brands like Volkswagen and LVMH and in India it is primarily active in capital markets.

Last year it had reportedly invested $300 million in Bangalore-based real estate developer and South India's largest office space builder RMZ Corp.

In another transaction, Qatar Foundation Endowment had invested $1.26 billion (Rs 6,796 crore) to pick 5 per cent stake in Bharti Airtel, the world’s fourth-biggest cellular carrier by customers. Qatar Foundation Endowment manages the personal wealth of the country's royal family and is separate from Qatar Investment Authority, the country's sovereign wealth fund.

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(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)

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